Sissy Squat – Hammer Your Quads!

Don’t let the name fool you, Sissy Squats are not a wimpy exercise, it’s an old-school bodybuilding staple, which, when performed correctly, will absolutely hammer your quads.

The Sissy Squat takes the glutes and hamstrings out of the squat and puts all the emphasis on the front of your legs. It has a dual effect of both being an isolation move and also a stretching exercise.

How To Do Sissy Squat

Holding on to a squat rack for balance, set your feet shoulder-width apart and place your heels on a block about two to three inches high or simply raise them off the floor.

With one hand on the rack, lean back and squat down on your toes. There is no bend at the hips. You want a straight line from your quads to your torso throughout the move.

Go down as far as you can, while maintaining balance and staying on your heels. You don’t need to lock your knees out at the top. Keep as much tension on the quads as possible.

Expert Tip: Ideally this is done for higher reps, between 15 and 20. At first you may be able only to do eight to 10 because these are deceptively hard. As you get used to them, you can be creative with pauses in the hole, tempo (three count down, three count up, etc.) and rep range.